Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Employment Law:
Employment law is a well-established body of statutes and judicial decisions covering all rights and obligations within the employer-employee relationship, including current employees, job applicants and former employees. It covers a wide range of legal issues, ranging from employment discrimination and wrongful termination to matters involving wages and workplace safety. Many employment law issues are governed by applicable federal and state employment law, but a number of issues are determined according to basic contract law.

Employee Rights:
All employees have basic rights arising from both state and federal laws. Some of these rights include: the right not to be subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, skin color, gender, pregnancy, religious beliefs, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, being a victim of domestic abuse, or genetic predispositions; the right to a workplace free of harassment; the right to be paid at least the minimum wage as provided by federal and state law; the right to overtime wages as provided by federal and state law; the right to a safe workplace and the right to take leave to care for a personal or family member's serious illness, or following the birth or adoption of a child.

Employment Discrimination:
Discrimination generally occurs when an employee is intentionally treated differently because of race, national origin, color, gender, pregnancy, religious beliefs, disability, age, marital status, sexual orientation, being a victim of domestic abuse and/or genetic predispositions, Employment discrimination claims may be prosecuted under various state and federal statutes. Even if the employee’s evidence is sufficient to show discrimination, an employer may be able to justify a particular job action by demonstrating that such treatment arose out of business necessity, or that a legitimate job qualification required consideration of factors that had an unintentional discriminatory effect. When the employer makes such a legitimate justification, the employee must show that discrimination, not the employer’s justification, was the true reason for the action.

Age Discrimination:
It is unlawful for an employer, employment agency or labor union to discriminate in employment on the basis of age. This includes refusing to hire an individual or firing an employee. It also includes an individual’s compensation, the terms, conditions, and privileges of his or her employment, and all employee benefits.

Disability Discrimination:
Both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protect individuals with disabilities from employment discrimination. An individual with a disability is defined as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, has a record of having such a physical or mental impairment, or is regarded as having such impairment. The term is broadly defined to include any physiological, mental or psychologically-based impairment, but it does not include mere physical characteristics or cultural, environmental, or economic impairment—the impairment must cause a substantial limitation to a major life activity. Temporary conditions, such as a broken arm or the flu, would not be considered substantial limitations amounting to a disability entitled to statutory protection under federal law.

Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment is any unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior. It involves a broad range of conduct, including such verbal harassment as derogatory comments, explicit sexual comments, descriptions of sexual exploits, leering or requesting sexual favors. The term also describes physical harassment, ranging from inappropriate touching to outright sexual assault. In order to be classified as unlawful the conduct in question must be both unwelcome and offensive to the victim.

Sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination, prohibited in employment settings under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IX of the 1972 Education Act makes sexual harassment in schools or other educational settings unlawful. Sexual harassment is also unlawful under New York State and New York City laws.

Overtime Compensation:
Under both New York and federal law employers are required to pay additional compensation to eligible employees who work more than forty hours during any seven-day period. For every hour over forty hours in any given workweek the employer must pay the eligible employee at least one and one-half times the employee's regular hourly rate.

Severance Agreements:
A severance agreement is a form of settlement agreement under which an employee agrees to accept an agreed sum of money in exchange for, among other things, abandoning all claims against the employer. Where it can be negotiated, a severance agreement saves money and aggravation for both sides. Severance agreements commonly include such provisions as a "mutual non-disclosure of terms," an agreement that the employee will not compete against the employer, and an agreement that neither the employer nor the employee will make negative comments about the other.

Trade Secrets Agreements:
Employment contracts frequently contain provisions for the protection of the employer's "trade secrets". These may range from customer data of one kind or another, to company designs, or even "secret recipes". Typically, the Trade Secrets clause of an employment contract will provide for "liquidated" damages in the event of disclosure of the information. Liquidated damages are a set dollar figure agreed-upon in advance, to be paid in the event the contract clause is violated.

Non-competition Agreements:
Non-competition agreements are provisions of an employment contract which restrict the activities of an employee after leaving the service of the company. Courts treat non-competition agreements with suspicion—with an eye toward preventing unnecessary and unreasonable interference with a person’s livelihood after severance of the employer/employee relationship. The Courts will often decline to enforce "unreasonable" non-competition agreements.

If you or someone you know needs the help of experienced New York Employment Lawyers, call Lipman & Plesur, LLP today at 866-435-2721, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule a consultation.

If you or someone you know needs the help of experienced New York Employment  Lawyers, call Lipman & Plesur, LLP today at 866-435-2721, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule a consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Lipman & Plesur, LLP
Long Island
500 North Broadway, Suite 105
Jericho, NY 11753
Phone: 866-435-2721

New York
1350 Broadway, Suite 2500
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 866-435-2721

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

• Attorney Robert D. Lipman

Robert D. Lipman manages the Jericho, New York office of Lipman & Plesur, LLP. He attended the New York State School of Industrial & Labor Relations at Cornell University and Buffalo Law School.

Mr. Lipman has lectured and written extensively on employment-related matters. Mr. Lipman has lectured for the Federal Bar Council at the Continuing Legal Education Program on Employment Law for Federal Law Clerks. He has also lectured at programs sponsored by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the American Bar Association, the New York Chapter of the American Trial Lawyers Association and the National Employment Lawyers' Association. Mr. Lipman co-authored What Supervisors Need To Know About Sexual Harassment, an award-winning online training program. He also co-authored A Call For Brightlines To Fix The Fair Labor Standards Act.

Mr. Lipman was also a contributor to the ABA/BNA Fair Labor Standards Act treatise. He is a member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association - Labor and Employment Law Section, the New York State Bar Association - Labor and Employment Law Section and is past Chairman of the Wage-Hour Subcommittee of the Nassau County Bar Association.

• Attorney Allison Plesur

Allison Plesur is a graduate of the New York State School of Industrial & Labor Relations at Cornell University and New York Law School. Ms. Plesur has lectured extensively to groups of employers and employees regarding employment rights. Ms. Plesur co-authored What Supervisors Need To Know About Sexual Harassment, an award-winning online training program. More information about the program is available at http://www.hrtrain.com. She also co-authored A Call For Brightlines To Fix The Fair Labor Standards Act.

• Attorney Lizabeth Schalet

Lizabeth Schalet attended George Washington University and the City University of New York Law School. Ms. Schalet conducted numerous jury trials while employed by the Legal Aid Society. Subsequently, she served as a Senior Trial Attorney at the New York City Commission on Human Rights where she litigated dozens of employment discrimination cases. Currently, she litigates employment cases in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. Ms. Schalet also has extensive experience mediating employment disputes. Ms. Schalet is an active member of the National Employment Lawyers Association, the New York State Women's Bar Association and the Lesbian and Gay Legal Association.

• Attorney David A. Robins

David A. Robins attended the University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Law. Mr. Robins, formerly a solo practitioner concentrating in the areas of employment and labor law, merged his practice with Lipman & Plesur, LLP. Mr. Robins is currently representing employees and employers in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies. He is a contributing editor for the treatise Estimating and Proving Damages In Employment Cases. He also co-authored a sexual harassment article entitled Court's Harassment Rulings Provide Ammunition for Both Sides for the New York Law Journal. Mr. Robins was also a hearing officer for the New York City Transit Adjudication Bureau.